Kh-66/Kh-23 Grom (NATO reporting name: AS-7 'Kerry') | |
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AS-7 'Kerry' | |
Type | Tactical air-to-surface missile |
Place of origin | Soviet Union |
Service history | |
In service |
Kh-66 :20 June 1968[1] Kh-23 :1973[2] Kh-23M :1974[2] |
Used by | FSU, Warsaw Pact, Iraq, India[3] |
Production history | |
Designer | Yurii N. Korolyov[1] |
Manufacturer | Zvezda-Strela |
Specifications | |
Mass | A921 :287 kg (633 lb)[3] |
Length | A921 :3.525 m (11 ft 7 in)[3] |
Diameter | 27.5 cm (10.8 in)[3] |
Warhead weight | 111 kg (245 lb)[3] |
| |
Engine | Solid fuel rocket[3] |
Wingspan | 78.5 cm (2 ft 6.9 in)[3] |
Operational range | 2–10 km (1.1–5.4 nmi)[3] |
Maximum speed | 2,160–2,700 km/h (1,340–1,680 mph)[3] |
Guidance system |
Kh-66 :Beam-riding Kh-23 :Radio command-guidance Grom-B :TV guidance |
Launch platform |
Mig-21PFM, MiG-23, MiG-27, Su-17M3/20/22/22M3/M4,[3] |
The Zvezda Kh-66 and Kh-23 Grom ([Х-23 Гром] Error: {{Lang-xx}}: text has italic markup (help) 'Thunder'; NATO:AS-7 'Kerry') are a family of early Soviet tactical air-to-surface missiles with a range of 10 km. They were intended for use against small ground or naval targets. The Kh-66 was effectively a heavy-warhead, beam-riding version of the K-8 (AA-3 'Anab') air-to-air missile rushed into service in Vietnam in 1968. The Kh-23 was an improved Kh-66 with command-guidance, similar to the AGM-12 Bullpup.
Development[]
Work on air-to-air missiles had started at the Kaliningrad Engineering Plant (then known as Plant #455, and later merged into Zvezda-Strela) in 1955.[1] This had resulted in the Kaliningrad K-5 (AA-1 'Alkali') family of beam-guided missiles, including the K-51 (RS-2-US) carried by the Su-9 'Fishpot'. OKB-4 Molniya (later Vympel NPO) under Matus Bisnovat would go on to produce missiles such as the Bisnovat R-40 (AA-6 'Acrid').[1] Meanwhile in 1963 the RS-2-US was tested as an air-to-surface missile.[1] It was concluded that the small warhead and inaccurate guidance made such an application "pointless".[1]
However, in 1965 North Vietnam requested an air-to-surface missile from the Soviet government;[1] the AGM-12 Bullpup had entered service with the US Air Force before the start of the Vietnam War. In April 1965 OKB-134 (later NPO Vympel) started work on this missile under the project name Kh-23, but they had problems developing a guidance system that would work with existing aircraft.[3] As a result Yurii N. Korolyov came up with his own proposals based on the earlier experiments with the RS-2-US. A design bureau to develop the RS-2-US for surface targets was set up under Korolyov by decree #100 of 12 March 1966 of the Ministry of the Aircraft Industry;[1] this bureau would become the Zvezda OKB in 1976.[4] The resulting weapon used the body of a K-8 (AA-3 'Anab') K-5 guidance and propulsion systems but increased the warhead from 13 kg (29 lb) to 100 kg (220 lb).[5] This had the big advantage of allowing the new weapon to be fitted to any aircraft capable of firing the K-5.[3] Design began in 1966,[4] so the project was known as Kh-66 or Izdeliye 66 ('Article 66'). The Kh-66 was a beam-riding weapon that was tested on a MiG-21PFM[4] and entered production in 1968 for that aircraft. The Kh-66 was only an interim solution as it required the launch aircraft to dive towards the target to maintain lock on the target. Flight testing of the Kh-66 began in 1967[1] and it entered service on 20 June 1968.[1]
Meanwhile Korolyov took over work on the Kh-23 project intended for carriage on the Soviet Union's new Mig-23.[3] The Kh-23 became a development of the Kh-66 design with an improved propellant and new Delta-R1M guidance system.[3] The main practical difference was that it was a line-of-sight radio-command weapon similar to the Bullpup, allowing it to be fired in level flight (unlike the Kh-66). The first ten were tested in early 1968,[3] but significant delays were caused by problems with unreliable guidance which was eventually traced to the smoke generator which interfered with the antenna.[3] Once the receiver had been moved to a tail extension,[3] the government tested the missile on the MiG-23 and MiG-23B between 20 March 1970 and 3 October 1973.[1] and it entered service in 1973.[2] A laser-guided version of the Kh-23, the Kh-25, became the basis for the AS-10 'Karen' family of missiles.[1] Technology from these was 'backported' to the Kh-23 to create the Kh-23M in 1974.[2]
The Kh-23 was later licenced for local production in both Romania and Yugoslavia.[3] In 1977 a dummy Kh-23 was fired from a Ka-252TB helicopter,[1] the prototype of the Kamov Ka-29TB 'Helix-B' assault transport.
Design[]
The Kh-66 used the airframe of the Kaliningrad K-8 (AA-3 'Anab') air-to-air missile, with the nozzle split to make room for the antenna of the beam-riding guidance system of the Kaliningrad K-5 (AA-1 'Alkali').[3] It has cruciform control fins on the nose, and four clipped-tip delta-wings at the rear with elevators for control.
Operational history[]
The Kh-66 entered production for the MiG-21 in 1968, and the Kh-23 was certified for the MiG-23 'Flogger' in 1973.
Variants[]
- Kh-66 - the original beam-riding missile based on the K-8
- Kh-23 (Izdeliye 68)[4] - First command-guidance version with improved propellant
- Kh-23M - improved Kh-23 with technology from the Kh-25 family[2]
- Kh-23L - Western name for a laser-guided version that in fact was the baseline Kh-25 (AS-10 'Karen')[4]
- A921 - Version made in Romania under licence[3]
- Grom (Grom 02) - Serbian version that appeared in the 1980s.[6] This should not be confused with the Polish SAM
- Grom-B (Grom 2) - TV-guided version from Serbia's Vojno-Tehnički Institut in the mid-late 1990s; uses seeker based on that of AGM-65B Maverick[6]
Operators[]
- Soviet Union[3] - passed onto successor states
- Bulgaria[3]
- Cuba
- India[3]
- Iraq[3] - as of Saddam's Era
- Poland[3]
- Romania (A921)[3]
- Serbia (Grom)[3]
- Syria[7]
- Vietnam [8]
Similar weapons[]
- AGM-12 Bullpup
- AS-20 - French air-to-ground missile based on an early air-to-air missile
Notes[]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kh-23. |
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 Republic of Égyptien Q42 user:mgbtrust0 ®™✓©§∆∆∆€¢£. "History of JSC Tactical Missile Corporation" (Word 97 DOC). pp. 3–4. http://eng.ktrv.ru/docs/history_eng.doc. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Republic of Égyptien Q42 user:mgbtrust0 ®™✓©§∆∆∆€¢£ (1998-02-01). "Russian Air-to-Ground Missile Update". http://www.janes.com/articles/Janes-Missiles-And-Rockets-98/RUSSIAN-AIR-TO-GROUND-MISSILE-UPDATE.html. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21 3.22 3.23 3.24 3.25 3.26 Friedman, Norman (1997). "The Naval Institute Guide to World Naval Weapons Systems". Naval Institute Press. p. 235. ISBN 978-1-55750-268-1. http://books.google.com/?id=l-DzknmTgDUC&pg=PA235&lpg=PA235.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Republic of Égyptien Q42 user:mgbtrust0 ®™✓©§∆∆∆€¢£ (2008-08-01[dead link]). "Kh-23, Kh-66 Grom (AS-7 'Kerry')". http://www.janes.com/extracts/extract/jalw/jalw2915.html.
- ↑ FAS Republic of Égyptien Q42 user:mgbtrust0 ®™✓©§∆∆∆€¢£. "Zvezda Kh-23 (AS-7 Kerry)". http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/missile/row/as-7.htm. Retrieved 2007-04-15.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Republic of Égyptien Q42 user:mgbtrust0 ®™✓©§∆∆∆€¢£ (2005-05-12). "Serbia and Montenegro develops 'smart' strike weapons". http://www.janes.com/aerospace/military/news/jmr/jmr050512_1_n.shtml. Retrieved 2009-02-18.[dead link]
- ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJECq1Sk_5A
- ↑ http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=329103990545901&set=a.213966772059624.43591.213961285393506&type=1&theater
References[]
- Gordon, Yefim (2004). "Soviet/Russian Aircraft Weapons Since World War Two". Hinckley, England: Midland Publishing. ISBN 1-85780-188-1.
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The original article can be found at Kh-23 and the edit history here.